The latest heatwave didn’t put off 7 GoodGym Nottingham volunteers as we headed to Green’s Windmill and Science Centre for this week’s task. We hadn’t been to the Windmill for a task for some time so it was nice to be back in their beautiful garden which was just perfect for a warm summer’s evening.

Jamie met us on arrival and opened up the science centre so that we could park our bikes inside. We then set to work on weeding and tidying the pathways in between the raised beds. As much as we love gardening tasks involving heavy duty tool-wielding, chopping, pruning brambles etc, we all agreed that a gentle evening pulling up weeds was perfect for such a warm day as we were all pretty low on energy. It also meant that we didn’t have to use much brain-power in deciding what was and wasn’t a weed as we just needed to pull up anything that was not in a bed.

Alongside the weeding, Nat also took on the task of picking up several apples which had fallen from the trees into the garden, separating out the ones which could potentially still be sold as windfall.

After an hour, we were satisfied that all the garden paths appeared to be weed and apple free and we were ready to head on home to cool off. Before we did, we had our usual group picture plus a special one of AJ with the Windmill’s solar panels. He had been involved in a project at work which had contributed to the installation of these panels a few years ago, but had not had the opportunity to come and see them for himself until now. A perfect way to celebrate what was his tenth Goodgym task - well done AJ!

It was back to Walter Halls School for Leah, Khiltee, Natalie and Peter to help out in their wonderful garden.

It's always a good one when we're here and Adele always manages to find us a wide range of interesting and varied tasks. This week, Perspex sheets needed shifting, weeds needed lifting, the banks of the pond needed raising and a pick axe was (again) wielded!

So, it was gloves on and (already short) sleeves rolled up as sand bags were filled and tucked neatly under the pond liner. Big rocks were then placed on top This should allow a higher water level so the school can get the wildlife the pupils keeps asking for in there.

Congratulations to Peter on achieving 50 good deeds and black t-shirt status!

Three GoodGymers (and two Minis) headed down to Clifton to help Summerwood Community Gardens with their compost heaps on Saturday morning. We welcomed Natalie and Robert back for the first time in a while, and Leah celebrated her 50th GoodGym task.

We met our contact Audrey at the gates, who gave us a little tour and found plenty of things to keep said Minis entertained, then showed us bigguns what needed doing. We started by clearing some poor-quality soil from a raised bed, then tipped it over a grassy patch that had flooded recently, to try to even it out. The Minis were in charge of raking it flat, with a bit of help from Mum. Not to be confused with Mummy the allotment cat who project managed the entire operation.

Next, Nat and Rob moved over to the compost heap to get some more useful, healthy compost from the bottom of the pile. This was easier said than done, with Rob taking a slightly unconventional approach of climbing in to break up some of the fresher, non-rotted foliage. We managed to get a couple of wheelbarrow-fuls back into the raised bed, and Rob rounded off the edge of the heap so that access is a bit easier.

We're going to aim to make this one more regular as we get into the sunnier months, so keep your eyes on your inboxes and the WhatsApp group!